IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/injoed/v106y2024ics0738059324000439.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Free secondary education policy and education attainment

Author

Listed:
  • Stenzel, Alicia G.
  • Osei Kwadwo, Victor
  • Vincent, Rose C.

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of Ghana’s Universal fee-free secondary education policy (FreeSHS) on educational attainment (completion rates). The policy was introduced in the school year 2017/2018, allowing every child to pursue secondary education irrespective of their background. We emphasize the educational outcomes of schoolgirls as they are shown to be at a greater disadvantage when accessing higher education in Ghana. Given the universality of the policy, we estimate a Difference-in-Differences model using variations in the treatment intensity across districts. The treatment and comparison groups are thus defined based on the differences in the uptake rate (changes in the uptake of education due to a price change). The paper draws from a comprehensive panel dataset capturing the demand and supply factors to education across 261 districts in Ghana. The empirical findings suggest that schoolgirls’ completion rate increased by 14 percentage points in high uptake districts, whereas the reform impact is estimated at 14.9 percentage points overall (for boys and girls). In effect, the absorption of education costs by the state serves as a critical incentive for cost-constrained households and an efficient measure for correcting market failures related to access and completion of secondary education for girls.

Suggested Citation

  • Stenzel, Alicia G. & Osei Kwadwo, Victor & Vincent, Rose C., 2024. "Free secondary education policy and education attainment," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:injoed:v:106:y:2024:i:c:s0738059324000439
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijedudev.2024.103021
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0738059324000439
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2024.103021?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Esther Duflo & Pascaline Dupas & Michael Kremer, 2021. "The Impact of Free Secondary Education: Experimental Evidence from Ghana," NBER Working Papers 28937, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Hainmueller, Jens, 2012. "Entropy Balancing for Causal Effects: A Multivariate Reweighting Method to Produce Balanced Samples in Observational Studies," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(1), pages 25-46, January.
    3. Neuenkirch, Matthias & Neumeier, Florian, 2016. "The impact of US sanctions on poverty," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 110-119.
    4. Al-Samarrai, Samer & Peasgood, Tessa, 1998. "Educational attainments and household characteristics in Tanzania," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 17(4), pages 395-417, October.
    5. Xinxin Chen & Yaojiang Shi & Di Mo & James Chu & Prashant Loyalka & Scott Rozelle, 2013. "Impact of a Senior High School Tuition Relief Program on Poor Junior High School Students in Rural China," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 21(3), pages 80-97, May.
    6. Kakuba, Christian & Nzabona, Abel & Asiimwe, John Bosco & Tuyiragize, Richard & Mushomi, John, 2021. "Who accesses secondary schooling in Uganda; Was the universal secondary education policy ubiquitously effective?," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    7. Anna Bruederle & Roland Hodler, 2018. "Nighttime lights as a proxy for human development at the local level," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(9), pages 1-22, September.
    8. Moussa P Blimpo & Ousman Gajigo & Todd Pugatch, 2019. "Financial Constraints and Girls’ Secondary Education: Evidence from School Fee Elimination in The Gambia," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 33(1), pages 185-208.
    9. Lincove, Jane Arnold, 2015. "Improving Identification of Demand-Side Obstacles to Schooling: Findings from Revealed and Stated Preference Models in Two SSA Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 69-83.
    10. Howard White & Edoardo Masset, 2005. "Books, Buildings and Learning Outcomes: an impact evaluation of World Bank assistance to basic education in Ghana," Development and Comp Systems 0504013, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Gruijters, Rob J. & Abango, Mohammed A & Casely-Hayford, Leslie, 2023. "Secondary School Fee Abolition in Sub-Saharan Africa: Taking Stock of the Evidence," SocArXiv 8fa2c, Center for Open Science.
    12. Apeti, Ablam Estel & Edoh, Eyah Denise, 2023. "Tax revenue and mobile money in developing countries," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    13. J. Vernon Henderson & Adam Storeygard & David N. Weil, 2012. "Measuring Economic Growth from Outer Space," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(2), pages 994-1028, April.
    14. repec:aer:wpaper:173 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Anlimachie, Moses Ackah & Avoada, Cynthia, 2020. "Socio-economic impact of closing the rural-urban gap in pre-tertiary education in Ghana: context and strategies," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    16. Havnes, Tarjei & Mogstad, Magne, 2011. "Money for nothing? Universal child care and maternal employment," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(11), pages 1455-1465.
    17. Eric A. Hanushek & Victor Lavy & Kohtaro Hitomi, 2008. "Do Students Care about School Quality? Determinants of Dropout Behavior in Developing Countries," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 2(1), pages 69-105.
    18. Shah,Manisha & Seager,Jennifer & Montalvao Machado,Joao H. C. & Goldstein,Markus P., 2022. "Two Sides of Gender : Sex, Power, and Adolescence," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10072, The World Bank.
    19. Roland Hodler & Paul A. Raschky, 2014. "Regional Favoritism," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 129(2), pages 995-1033.
    20. Glick, Peter, 2008. "What Policies will Reduce Gender Schooling Gaps in Developing Countries: Evidence and Interpretation," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(9), pages 1623-1646, September.
    21. Burgess, Simon, 2016. "Human Capital and Education: The State of the Art in the Economics of Education," IZA Discussion Papers 9885, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    22. David K Evans & Fei Yuan, 2022. "What We Learn about Girls’ Education from Interventions That Do Not Focus on Girls," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 36(1), pages 244-267.
    23. Aryeetey, Ernest & Kanbur, Ravi (ed.), 2017. "The Economy of Ghana Sixty Years after Independence," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198753438.
    24. Bernardin Senadza, 2012. "Education inequality in Ghana: gender and spatial dimensions," Journal of Economic Studies, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 39(6), pages 724-739, October.
    25. Oecd, 2022. "Why is the gender ratio of teachers imbalanced?," Education Indicators in Focus 81, OECD Publishing.
    26. Robert Jensen, 2010. "The (Perceived) Returns to Education and the Demand for Schooling," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 125(2), pages 515-548.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Dang, Hai-Anh H. & Raju, Dhushyanth & Tanaka, Tomomi & Abanokova, Kseniya, 2024. "Poverty dynamics for Ghana during 2005/06–2016/17: an investigation using synthetic panels," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 124105, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dickinson, Jeffrey, 2020. "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles: What Drives Human-Made Light?," MPRA Paper 103504, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Michał Myck & Mateusz Najsztub, 2020. "Implications of the Polish 1999 administrative reform for regional socio‐economic development," Economics of Transition and Institutional Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(4), pages 559-579, October.
    3. Ablam Estel Apeti & Jean-Louis Combes & Eyah Denise Edoh, 2023. "Entrepreneurship in developing countries: can mobile money play a role?," Working Papers hal-04081304, HAL.
    4. Roland Hodler & Paul A Raschky & Anthony Strittmatter, 2024. "Religion and terrorism: Evidence from Ramadan fasting," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 61(3), pages 351-365, May.
    5. Apeti, Ablam Estel & N’Doua, Bossoma Doriane, 2023. "The impact of timber regulations on timber and timber product trade," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 213(C).
    6. Kammerlander, Andreas & Schulze, Günther G., 2023. "Local economic growth and infant mortality," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    7. KOUAKOU, Dorgyles C.M. & YEO, Kolotioloma I.H., 2023. "Can innovation reduce the size of the informal economy? Econometric evidence from 138 countries," MPRA Paper 119264, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Apeti, Ablam Estel & Combes, Jean-Louis & Minea, Alexandru, 2024. "Inflation targeting and fiscal policy volatility: Evidence from developing countries," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    9. Nguyen, Cuong & Noy, Ilan, 2018. "Measuring the impact of insurance on urban recovery with light: The 2011 New Zealand earthquake," Working Paper Series 6955, Victoria University of Wellington, School of Economics and Finance.
    10. Dreher, Axel & Fuchs, Andreas & Hodler, Roland & Parks, Bradley C. & Raschky, Paul A. & Tierney, Michael J., 2021. "Is Favoritism a Threat to Chinese Aid Effectiveness? A Subnational Analysis of Chinese Development Projects," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    11. Pushkar Maitra & William Yu, 2021. "The Long Shadow of Infrastructure Development: Long Run Effects of Railway Construction in Colonial India," Monash Economics Working Papers 2021-01, Monash University, Department of Economics.
    12. Bluhm, Richard & Hodler, Roland & Schaudt, Paul, 2021. "Local majorities: How administrative divisions shape comparative development," Economics Working Paper Series 2110, University of St. Gallen, School of Economics and Political Science.
    13. Hodler, Roland & Raschky, Paul & Strittmatter, Anthony, 2018. "Religiosity and Terrorism: Evidence from Ramadan Fasting," CEPR Discussion Papers 13257, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    14. Shapiro, Daniel & Oh, Chang Hoon & Zhang, Peng, 2023. "Nighttime lights data and their implications for IB research," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 29(5).
    15. Bambe, Bao-We-Wal & Combes, Jean-Louis & Kaba, Kabinet & Minea, Alexandru, 2024. "Inflation targeting and firm performance in developing countries," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    16. Asatryan, Zareh & Baskaran, Thushyanthan & Birkholz, Carlo & Hufschmidt, Patrick, 2021. "Regional redistribution of mineral resource wealth in Africa," ZEW Discussion Papers 21-032, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    17. Dorgyles C.M. Kouakou, 2024. "The effect of informal competition on registered firms’ credit constraints: Global evidence, channels, and the roles of productivity and financial development," Economics Working Paper Archive (University of Rennes & University of Caen) 2024-10, Center for Research in Economics and Management (CREM), University of Rennes, University of Caen and CNRS.
    18. Jain, Chandan & Kashyap, Shagun & Lahoti, Rahul & Sahoo, Soham, 2023. "The impact of educated leaders on economic development: Evidence from India," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(3), pages 1068-1093.
    19. Joseph, Iverson-Love, 2022. "The effect of natural disaster on economic growth: Evidence from a major earthquake in Haiti," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    20. Neerbewendé Abdoul Rachid Pafadnam, 2024. "How does implementing the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) affect economic growth? Evidence from developing countries," Post-Print hal-04727043, HAL.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Human capital; Secondary education; Girls’ education; Completion rates; Ghana; Africa;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I25 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Economic Development
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy
    • H40 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - General
    • O55 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Africa

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:injoed:v:106:y:2024:i:c:s0738059324000439. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/international-journal-of-educational-development .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.